Grade the Trade: Raptors chain themselves to overpaid star in misguided pitch

This would be a disaster for the Raptors

The Toronto Raptors have starters entrenched at four of the five spots on the roster; the question of who would be the fifth starter is a bit of a question mark. Bruce Brown or Gradey Dick seem like the two realistic options. Could it be Zach LaVine instead?

Colin Keane laid out his rationale for Toronto being interested in Zach LaVine as follows: "Toronto has Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett on long-term deals, but the Raptors don't have enough pure scoring on their roster. LaVine would provide that and bring balance to Toronto's depth chart."

None of that makes any sense whatsoever.

First off, the Raptors have a lot of on-ball scoring on the roster already. Scottie Barnes has developed into a plus playmaker and scorer with the ball in his hands, and RJ Barrett thrives on the ball. Immanuel Quickley has experience playing both on-and-off ball but certainly can fill it up when given the chance. FIrst-round pick Ja'Kobe Walter has on-ball juice that can be explored as he develops.

What the Raptors need is shooting, defense and off-ball utility, not another on-ball scorer. Zach LaVine wouldn't fit a need whatsoever, and instead lower their ceiling as a team while likely not even helping the offense.

Keane's other point was that adding LaVine would "bring balance to Toronto's depth chart." Toronto currently has a whopping seven shooting guards on the team; trading for another one does them no good whatsoever.

This deal would chain them to LaVine and his contract for years to come, and there is almost no chance of them being able to move him in a separate deal. He is one injury away from being the next Lonzo Ball, with a large contract but unable to get onto the court.

This deal would trade two solid players with positive trade value for a player with incredible negative value, failing to meet any needs on the roster and destroying their books for the next few seasons. This is an utter disaster of a trade and it's wild that Keane and The Sporting News were comfortable publishing it.

Keane ends his piece as such: "LaVine to the Raptors hasn't been discussed at all in league circles..."

There's a reason for that, Colin. This trade is a bust.

Grade: D-